If you're a friend of mine, there's a pretty
strong chance you've met my brother. Dylan is 23 and lives in Minneapolis pretty close to me, so we hang out all
the time. We've been really good pals since we were tiny; I guess you could say
I groomed him to be my sidekick since he could walk and talk.

Dylan is naturally pretty handsome (I'm a big
sister, so I can say this), but he has always enjoyed snooping through my
products and taking those that address his needs. He'll come
over, watch our cable and then ask me, "Hey, do you have any conditioner/face masks/etcetera?"

Generally, I'm the one fulfilling
his beauty needs, but I've learned a few things from him, too!

1. Natural deodorant doesn't work.

I'm sorry,
Dylan. It just doesn't. Dylan is a little bit hippie-dippie sometimes, and he
loves to collect and hoard Tom's of Maine deodorant. I have
never, ever had luck with this stuff, but he insists it works. I insist I can
smell him. Never the twain shall meet, I guess.

Dylan says: “I don’t sweat that much anyway. I’m still
looking for one that will make me smell like a mountain. Like a big-ass glacial
mountain.”

2. Coconut oil is great for taming crazy curls.

Dylan had straight hair when we were younger, but since he turned 18, it's only
gotten curlier and curlier.

We both have pretty coarse waves, so we like to
use a little coconut oil to tame them when our hair is wet. By some strange
twist of fate, Dylan's waves turn to ringlets when he does this. I'm jealous.

Dylan says: “I like it because you can buy a
big thing for pretty cheap, but I think it’s getting a little too heavy for my
hair now. Now I’m using monoi oil or going au naturale. I
don’t like how I look with short hair ‘cause I play rock ‘n’ roll.”

3. Dr. Bronner is awesome for everything.

Dylan introduced me to Dr. Bronner soap when he gave me a giant bottle of the
lavender scent for my birthday. I fell in love with it and use it for
everything from washing my makeup brushes to cleaning the kitchen floor. I like
to pour a little in my bathwater, too, because the scent is just strong
enough to be relaxing but never overpowering.

Dylan says: “I like Dr. Bronner because you
can use it for anything. It doesn’t dry your skin out, and I like the scents;
I’m using orange right now. My friend Joe turned me on to it.”

4. Lotion is your friend!

Dylan hates wearing lotion. He works in a salvage shop, so he's
always doing heavy lifting and grunt work. His hands go through a lot, and his
knuckles are always painful and cracking. I nag at him to use a hand cream all
the time, but he refuses.

Dylan says: “I don’t like the greasy feeling of
lotion. I drink a lot of water and green tea; I think it helps keep me
hydrated. I think there’s a stigma that
lotion is girly and being obsessed with your skin is emasculating. But I like Aveda
aftershave cream in the winter, and that’s a moisturizer I will use.”

5. Use a facemask once a week.

One of Dylan's
favorite things to swipe from my beauty closet is a face mask. His favorite one thus far is the classic Queen Helene Mint
Julep Masque.

Dylan says: “In the summer, when I work outside, I
work in a lot of dust and dirt. If I’m going on a date or something, I have a
spa day like ‘Mask Monday’ where I’ll use that mask around my nose. It makes my
skin feel nice and my pores clear.”

6. Boys
can use conditioner, too.

When did the world decide that men don't use
conditioner? Most of the dudes in my life have glorious hair that needs the
love conditioner can provide, and Dylan's one of those.

Once I introduced him
to Kiehl's Amino Acid Conditioner, which moisturize gently with coconut oil, jojoba oil and
(obviously) amino acids, he was hooked.

Dylan: “I didn’t STEAL that! You gave it to me!”

7. Listen to your sister.

Dylan says: “Don’t wash your hair every day. I got
curly hair when I stopped washing it every day, and girls started talking to me.
Don’t stress out about your skin. Find stuff that works for you. Don’t spend a
lot of money on crazy products, just steal them from your sister. Just because
you’re a guy doesn’t mean you can’t treat yourself and put on a mud mask. You
can drink whiskey while you do it if you’re worried about it.”